Rhyland looked around to see if anyone else noticed the unique scent emanating from the girl. But it appears that no one seems to notice. He's never smelled such a strong positive scent from a human before. It easily satiated the Hunger, something that used to only be calmed down by hunting. It was unbelievable. He stared at the girl in front of him. 'What are you?'
Aubrey is anxious. She hates being the center of attention and that's exactly what is happening right now. The only reason she inserted herself in the confrontation earlier was that she didn't want anything going wrong with her shift. The new supervisor warned her earlier that he didn't want any problems that would hinder his promotion. Otherwise, why would 5 ft 3 Aubrey get in the way of two huge burly men going at each other? Around her, Aubrey could hear the whispers of the bystanders who followed the man into the cafeteria and she couldn't help but frown. Whoever this Rhyland person is, she doesn't want anything to do with him.
"Who is she?"
"Rhyland's girlfriend?"
"Are you crazy!? Why would Rhyland's girlfriend look like that?"
"Isn't he seeing Kaminski?"
"She's just someone who wants a bit of attention."
And so, with the fight successfully diffused (not by her), Aubrey was about to go back to her station when a large masculine hand encircled her wrist.
"Wait." Came a low pleasant sounding voice. "You dropped this."
Aubrey turned around to find the man holding her ruby necklace.
As she tried to grab her necklace from the man's hand, their fingers touched. All at once the air became unusually charged. Static electricity passed through their fingers.
Aubrey could see the man's amber eyes widen in surprise.
"Thank you!" Aubrey muttered before quickly making her way back behind the register. Instinctively, she could tell this man was dangerous.
"See you around." Rhyland shot Aubrey an attractive smile.
...…
"So I heard you caught the attention of THE Rhyland Darling." Beverly commented as they were having dinner at Aubrey's place.
"Heir to the Darling Empire?" Richard asked. A hint of awe could be heard from his voice. Rhyland Leslie Darling was well known across campus to both the male and female population. The man is not only rich and handsome, he is also smart and known for his good personality. Not that Aubrey cares; she only has eyes for one person.
"That's the one." Beverly gleefully answered.
"I didn't catch his attention. I was just trying to stop a fight." Aubrey pointedly replied.
"Aww shucks, Bree. And here I thought you're finally becoming interested in boys."
"You speak like I'm asexual or something."
Aubrey rolled her eyes as Beverly went on with her monologue. "Isn't that why you haven't been dating. Or could it be that you're… Gasp! You like girls? I'm sorry my dear I don't swing that way."
"Will you stop it? For your info, I like boys. I just…" Aubrey took a quick glance at Richard whose eyes were currently glued to her friend. "haven't found one that I'm interested in, is all."
"It's because you spend so much time on those storybooks that's why!"
"They're webnovels!"
"Same thing! Right?" Beverly nudged the man sitting beside her who immediately nodded.
Aubrey decided to ignore her two friends and instead focused on her dinner. She is certain those two are conspiring against her. And as for that man called Rhyland Darling, it's highly unlikely their paths will ever cross again. They obviously live in two separate worlds.
None of the trio noticed the large dark creature outside the window with bright gleaming eyes.
...
Rhyland felt like a creep. This is the first time in his entire 24 years of life that he, Rhyland Leslie Darling, is stalking a girl. Stalking is something he only did when he hunted. Yet right now, he is waiting outside a girl's house in his wolf form no less. This is so unlike him to seek a woman. Rhyland has never been interested in a girl in this way. Not to say he's never had sex. He has. Many times. That was the only way to calm the Rut werewolves experience after all. It's just that girls usually throw themselves at him. Not the other way around. But there's just something about this girl.
It's definitely not the looks. He's seen beautiful girls aplenty. This girl named Aubrey looks average at best although she has really pretty brown eyes. It's the scent. This is the first time he's smelled this scent from any human. Yet oddly enough, ever since earlier he can no longer detect the scent from her.
'Did I just imagine it?'
'No I'm certain that wasn't the case.' Otherwise, the Hunger wouldn't have gone away. And it hasn't returned.
Ever since his father was replaced as the leader of the clan, Rhyland found himself and his family ostracized from the pack. And coupled with the ailing health of his father and subsequent seclusion of his mother, Rhyland unfortunately had to mostly learn to hunt on his own. Yes, he could always just purchase raw meat to eat but Rhyland prefers to hunt whenever he can to keep his senses sharp. This caused him to get into all sorts of scrapes when he was young. He had once gone head to head with a bear when he had accidentally come after the former's prey. He also nearly became alligator food as he drank from the river. He's had many near misses in the past but he's always prevailed.
Rhyland was confident that he could always overcome the Hunger, the Rage, and the Rut that werewolves experience. But recently something's changed. He's more ravenous than before and he can't seem to calm down after a kill. Moreover, he can't seem to ever satisfy his desire no matter how often he sleeps with someone. So Rhyland feared he was losing control, that sooner or later he would go berserk.
That's why when he had taken a whiff of that fragrant and peculiar scent from the girl, it was almost like he was possessed. It was like finding an oasis in the middle of a desert.